2018 Upick Season

2018 Upick Season

The 2018 Upick Season is complete!! THANK YOU to our family, volunteers and awesome customers that made this possible! The farm is closed now and the field will be harvested starting Monday. Here’s what the rest of the year looks like:
–> We will be propagating a new round of plants that we’d expect to be ready for the spring 2019
–> We will have Feast in the Field in October.
–> We will be working on a new off-farm retail home(s?) soon and will announce that when it’s figured out.
–> We’ll only be at a *few* area off-farm events summer/winter and will list those on FB and our website.
–> We will be closed down during September – mid October (up to Feast in the Field) as we will be welcoming a new addition to the family.

We are excited to announce the dates for Upick 2018!  We have added and changed some things, so please check out the info below!


May 18th – June 16th, 2018

Season Long Activities: UPick (below) * Classes & Events * Group Booking * Photographer Booking * Party Hosting
UPick Days (below): Lavender Picking * Shopping * Children’s Activities * Tours * Picnics Welcome
Pre-Registration Discount * Walk-Ups Welcome
Benefiting Greer Relief * Artwork by Ben Compton / www.BenComptonArt.com

Upick Days

Dates (mostly Fridays and Saturdays):

  • May 18, 19, 25, 26 **NOTE 5/18 has been canceled due to weather!**
  • June 1, 3*, 8, 9, 15, 16
  • Please Note: June 3rd is a Sunday.  We are having a family wedding here on the 2nd and the farm is closed on that Saturday.

Time:

  • 9am – 3pm – Stay the whole time or just for a little while!
  • A touring talk will be given at 10am and 1pm.  We’ll be ringing a bell to kick it off!

Cost:

  • Entry fee of $4 or $6:
    • You can pre-register online for $4.
    • We will offer walkups this year and that’s $6 per person at the entry tent with $2 of every walk up ticket going directly to Greer Relief.
    • 7 and under and 85 and over are free.
  • Bundles are $2-$10 and you can choose how much you pick (no limit!) or you can just hang out and look at the gorgeous lavender!
  • Shopping and box lunches are available, picnics are welcome. Get more detail below!
  • We’ll have free tours and children’s activities again! Cloud dough, sensory rice, bubbles, and more!

To Pre-Register
Go to our Calendar, find the day you want, click on it, select the number of tickets you’ll need and go through the payment steps (Paypal or Credit Card (you do NOT have to have a paypal account)).  You will get your receipt and tickets via email.  You only need your name and possibly email address to check in at the entry gate (do not need to bring printed ticket).

What day do I pick?
We have two main kinds of lavender and one kind blooms earlier and the other blooms later – learn more here.  We’ll have updates of what’s blooming when online. Many people wanted to see and cut both kinds, so consider coming back for a second day!

Food and Box Lunches
Due to the scattered nature of attendance, we are not having food trucks – we love them but need to be fair about their business.  BUT, we are partnering with Season’s Cafe and Catering (the very same that fed you at our Feast in the Field!) to offer box lunches!  Box lunches are available in pre-registration and there are 4 choices (details below).  Limited a la carte items will be available each upick day as well.

We will have the pre-paid boxes waiting for you on the day you registered and you pick them up when you get here.  Refunds will only be available up to 48 hours before your date.  We have tables, chairs and bleachers, but feel free to bring a blanket and everything you need for a picnic lunch.  We ask that you take care to clean everything up to help us keep the farm nice for everyone!  Registration for box lunches closes Wednesday 9pm for Friday and Thursday 9pm for Saturday so the lunches can be ordered and made!

Box choices – includes plasticware and napkin and gluten free is available upon request:

  1. Chicken Salad Croissant (chicken breast, craisins, celery and toasted almonds++ on a buttery croissant), fresh fruit, chips and lavender sugar cookie – $9
  2. Oven Roasted Turkey Breast Sandwich (sliced turkey breast, Harvardi cheese and cranberry lavender chutney), fresh fruit, chips and lavender sugar cookie – $9
  3. Seasonal Roasted Vegetable Salad (seasonal roasted vegetables, feta cheese on a bed of mixed greens with raspberry lavender dressing), sliced baguette and lavender sugar cookie – $9
  4. Kids Meal: Ham & Cheese, fresh fruit, lavender sugar cookie – $5


Refunds & Date Changes & Weather
Emergencies happen. But we must plan for each day and event.  Therefore, if you have pre-registered, refunds for tickets and box lunches will only be given up to 48 hours before your date.  If you need to change dates, we can move you to a new date one time only and this must be done 48 hours before the date you have registered. Based on growing conditions and Mother Nature, we do need to reserve the right to change or cancel Upick dates, but we will have lots of communication in advance.  If we do need to cancel for any reason, we will refund registrations.  As far as weather, the season is a rain or shine event.  Remember, if a day is rainy, since you can come any time between 9-3, you can plan your visit around weather.  Thank you for your understanding on these policies.

What happens each day?
On the day you choose, we’ll give you instructions and information.  We’ll provide scissors (do not bring or use your own), but you can bring your own basket, bucket, or bag to hold the stems while you cut.  We have baskets that you can borrow as well.  When you are done cutting, we will measure the bundle and rubber band it.  We have 5 bundles sizes from $2 to $10.  You can pick from any cultivar of lavender and all the rows will be labeled so you know what you are cutting.  You can come cut your lavender and leave, or spend all day with us!  We have two main kinds of lavender that bloom at different times – learn more here.

Greer Relief
Help us support our community and neighbors! Please consider bring donations with you for Greer Relief – here is the list of needed items: http://greerrelief.org/wish-lists/.  We are donating $2 of every walk up ticket sold and we’ll offer a place to donate on the pre-registration tickets.

Shopping
Shopping, shopping!  We will be selling our products you have come to know and love and we’ll be showcasing lavender-related products from local makers! The shop will be open with all of our Upick days, classes, and events.  The shop will be open just for shopping hours and Upick will not be available these days, it’ll just be shopping hours!

  • May 20th
  • May 27th
  • June 17th
  • 1-5pm

Stay tuned for an announcement of our Lavender shopping partners this year!

Pets
Pet policy: To make sure everyone stays safe (4 legged and 2 legged!), pets are not allowed.

Volunteers
We are going to need a lot of happy helpers for these 10 days of Upick!  Are you interested in helping?  You will receive a free Upick $10 bundle and lunch.  Please Contact Us with your name and dates you are interested.  We’ll figure out which job is best suited for you!  Make sure to include what day(s) you can volunteer:

  • May 18, 19, 25, 26
  • June 1, 3*, 8, 9, 15, 16

Vendors
We want to connect with makers in the community who have products that relate to lavender and rent you space in our retail store during our Upick season, similar to a consignment model. As there are many maker events in the Upstate, we think this will be the best way to connect to and showcase local artisans.  Since we don’t want to repeat our specific Southern Hills Lavender products and we’ll have limited space, each item will be carefully reviewed and considered.  We will provide display/shelving space for display and cross-posting on social media for advertising.  You provide your product, any descriptive signage and price tags and restock your inventory (you still own your products).  We use Square and bar codes and we can specifically keep track of your sales and inventory.  Your cost is for display rent, credit card processing and commission (this info will be discussed when you submit your product for consideration). I will require that your products are gotten to us by May 1st,2018 so we can have time to enter everything into our system and get bar codes in place.

What’s the benefit to you?  Sales and unique exposure. We had $10,000 of vendor sales (not SHL) in 12 Upick days and additional events in 2017 and in 2016, we had 8,000 people at a one day event.

So, do you have a product that contains, relates to, compliments, or makes sense with lavender? Do you make art, pottery, decorations, complimentary cosmetics, food items, dog treats, embroidery, linens, something outside of the box, etc with lavender or that relates to lavender?  Submit information on your business and products.

Deadline to apply is April 15, 2018.